Spark
by Greys-Shepherdess
Summary: Amelia/Arizona fluff.
"Name?"

"Shepherd. Amelia."

Arizona's head popped up when she heard the familiar name, spoken by none other than its rightful owner, sound from across the crowded restaurant. She quickly turned away, trying her best to conceal herself from her colleague, and pretended to read the menu.

Amelia paid the owner and thanked him as she grabbed the brown bag of takeout Italian food, turning back around to exit the building. She stopped, however, when her eyes met a familiar face. The blonde's head was barely hidden behind a menu, her eyes carefully scanning it. She was sitting alone at a two-person table, dressed in a black blouse and black jeans, her hair lightly tousled and face dusted with light but elegant makeup. Amelia could tell she wasn't meant to be here alone.

Deciding to say hello, the brunette made her way across the restaurant, pushing her way through the long line of noisy customers at the counter and sliding through too-close-together tables. Arizona could sense that she was coming over, but continued to pretend not to notice.

"Hey, stranger," Amelia greeted her, her voice perky and face bearing a kind smile.

"Oh, hey," Arizona replied. "What are you doing here?"

The brunette held up the brown bag. "Just picking up some dinner," she told her. "What about you? You're all dressed up. You look nice," she complimented.

Arizona smiled. "Thanks," she said, her voice seeming somewhat sad. Amelia frowned.

"Are you, uh..." the brunette began. "Expecting company?"

Arizona sighed. "I was."

Amelia furrowed her brow, tilting her head in a silent request for further clarification.

"My date stood me up," the blonde admitted, looking somewhat embarrassed. "I've been waiting nearly forty-five minutes. I tried calling her, too. Right to voicemail."

The brunette frowned again. "Oh, Arizona. I'm so sorry."

The blonde offered a sad smile. "It's okay. Thanks."

After a moment of silence, Amelia spoke up.

"Well, for the record, you do look really nice. It's her loss," she smiled.

Arizona's face broke out into a small but genuine smile, feeling lighter for a brief moment at the other woman's kind words.

"Thank you. You're sweet."

Another moment of silence passed before Amelia spoke again.

"Well, since you're all alone," she started. "I'll be your date tonight."

Arizona looked up at the woman standing before her, chuckling at the offer.

"What?" she asked, amused.

"I mean, it'd be a shame to let this night go to waste. You got all dolled up. It shouldn't be for nothing," Amelia began. "Plus, you've already been here a while anyway... and I'm here now... and I have food already..." she continued. "So, yeah. Why not? We should make the best of it."

Arizona felt her heart swell, her mood brightening instantly. But, she didn't want this to be a pity party. She figured Amelia already had plans with Owen, or Maggie, maybe.

"That's sweet of you, but you don't have to do that. I mean, don't you have plans with Owen or something? I don't want to ruin your night."

"Oh, please. I want to!" Amelia assured her. "Things with Owen and I are... well, they're not really anything. I don't think that's going anywhere. Plus, I was just going to eat all this food by myself in an on-call room, so this is definitely a much better alternative," she grinned.

"Well, in that case, have a seat."

For nearly three hours, the two women talked about anything and everything - their experiences in college, in med school, their childhoods, embarrassing memories, the worst dates they've ever been on, their favorite pastimes. They discovered that they had more in common then they ever knew. For starters, they both went to Hopkins, partially at the same time, in fact. They both _hated_ raspberries. They both liked to eat doughnuts when they were sad, or grieving. They both seemed to become rather fond of the other - her laugh, her eyes, her hair, the sound of her voice, her sense of humour; that, however, they kept to themselves.

Amelia found it easy to talk to her. It was natural. It was comfortable. She found herself smiling more than she had in a very, very long time.

Arizona found herself drawn to the dimple on her left cheek. She didn't know why she'd never noticed it before. It was quite prominent, especially when she smiled. Maybe that was why. She had never seen Amelia smile - _really_ smile, that is - until tonight. She also found that Amelia's smile, and the way she giggled, seemed to make her blush a lot. And she usually wasn't one to blush.

It was nearly 11:15 when Amelia's pager went off. 911. She's been laughing hysterically at one of Arizona's embarrassing stories from med school, and struggled to compose herself before checking it. She sighed, not wanting to leave.

"I'm so sorry, I have to go," she explained, quickly standing up.

"Duty calls," Arizona nodded, understanding. "Thank you, Amelia. I had a great time. I really appreciate it."

"Anytime," Amelia smiled, hurriedly slipping her jacket on. "I'll see you at work tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Arizona replied. She watched as Amelia rushed out the door.

As the brunette made her way outside, she stopped herself. She knew that this hadn't actually been a _date_ date, but she somehow felt as though she was leaving the night unfinished. Without second guessing herself, she quickly turned back around and made her way toward the small table near the back of the restaurant where Arizona was now packing away their leftover food.

The blonde whipped her head up in surprise, her brow furrowing in confusion, when she saw Amelia making her way toward her.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I just, um," Amelia started, mentally slapping herself for her clumsiness. "I had a really nice time. And, uh, it just felt wrong to leave without..." she trailed off, panicking internally and cursing herself for being so lame. Before she even knew what she was doing, she grabbed both of Arizona's cheeks and kissed her.

It was short, but sweet, and it made Arizona's stomach jump and her heart beat fast.

Amelia gently pulled away, shooting her a dimpled grin as she once again rushed out of the restaurant.

Arizona remained frozen in place, truly at a loss for words. She brought her fingers up to her lips, as if savoring the brief moment.

"Woah."


End file.
